Meet Tully!

The newest member of the Eddins family arrived on Tuesday, August 12th!  In one of the most spontaneous decisions we have ever made we welcomed a little Boxer/Shar Pei mix, named Tully, into the family!  And the story goes like this...

I am a volunteer on the board of the Cedar Valley Humane Society and I had gotten word that we were getting a large group of dogs in at the shelter from Missouri, many of them puppies.  I have a team of ladies that I work with at the office and we are all animal lovers, so I was showing them pictures of the puppies online.  We decided to take a little field trip to the shelter to go see a particular dog for my co-worker, Jean.  

When we were there, I peeked in on a few puppies that looked very similar to Tag, our male dog who is a Black Mouth Cur.  Black Mouth Cur's are unheard of around here and if you remember Tag's story, it ended up taking Mike all the way to Texas to pick him up.  So, I was a bit enamored with the fact that there were puppies that looked so much like him out at the shelter.  However, this was about my co-worker and her falling in love with a puppy, not about us needing another dog (that would be crazy!)!

Well, we left the shelter and headed back to the office and we were all puppy drunk!  I couldn't stop thinking about these little girl puppies that looked so much like Tag.  I sent Mike a picture via text message and he said, "cute."  I then proceeded to tell him that maybe he should go take a look.  To which he replied, "if I go out to the shelter I won't be able to leave without a dog."  My response was, "go look, I left without a dog, just go see the two dogs (named: Dorothy & Tabatha at the time).  There was a bit more back and forth via text message, but ultimately Mike was headed to the store to get stuff for dinner and to pick-up Lila.  

I head home and pull in the driveway and look over and much to my surprise my family was in the back yard - Mike, Lila, Luca, Tag, and a NEW puppy!  At that very moment reality sunk in.  WHAT?!  We can't have another dog, let alone a puppy!  We are INSANE!  I seriously meant for him to just go look and then he would come home empty handed and we would talk each other out of it!  Nope.  She was there.  Hanging out in the backyard with my family, making herself at home!  

I get out of the car absolutely dumbfounded.  I look at Mike with my jaw on the floor and he says, "surprise!"  I look at him and say, "OH NO!  I think we should take her back."  To which Lila replies, "NOOOOOOOOO!  I LOVE HER!!!!!!"  At that moment I thought, "Uh-oh, here we go.  We are now a family with 3 dogs."  (Is there any concern that we are hoarding animals at this point?!)

In all seriousness, after the initial shock wore off, I was happy to have her.  Part of my volunteerism at the shelter is help animals find forever homes and we are happy to provide that to our sweet little Tully.  We are adjusting to having a puppy in the house again as it has been 10 years since we have done the puppy gig, but she is doing really pretty well.  Luca & Tag have really been so great to her, showing her the ropes.  And Tag has enjoyed having a buddy to rough house with and play tug of war.  

Tully Dot Eddins

Tag as a puppy                                             Tully as a puppy

Her sweet face melting into my hand

Checking out her new yard

Taking it all in

Sweet face!

Three's company!

Big Sister & Little Sister

What's he doing?!

Lila and her dogs!

Herding!

Worn out!

Getting bigger!

She has crawled right into our hearts!

It may be a little crazy to have three dogs, but to be honest, we have played so many decisions recently on the "safe side," and we weren't overly satisfied with how some of the outcomes played out...so we decided that sometimes being spontaneous, and throwing caution to the wind, can be liberating and bring quite a bit of happiness along with it!

Whatcha Been Up To?!

These last two months have seemed to fly by with the greatest of ease.  I was just at a meeting today and we were talking about the first of October and it was a harsh realization that we are approaching that much quicker than I care to admit! 

We have certainly been busy and once the school year got into full swing, it seems like you pick up on a rhythm and before you know it the weeks have sailed by. 

Here is a quick detail of what has been keeping the Eddins family busy recently...

Cheering on the Hawks!

This year we went to Kids Day at Kinnick!  We actually had dual purpose of doing this.  We went because we have never done it before, but more importantly we went to support our good family friends, the Holub's, and their son Dylan.  Dylan was picked as a University of Iowa Hospitals "Kid Captain!"  What a cool deal this has been for all of them.  Dylan and the other captains got to spend the whole day in Iowa City on Kids Day and did a ton of behind the scenes stuff with the coaches, the team, and were guests of honor that day!  Each child also has a game of their own during the season where they are honorary Kid Captain of the game.  Super cool!

Kids Day @ Kinnick!

 

Mom & Lila

The family!

Even puppy has his black & gold on!

To learn more about Dylan's story and his role as a Kid Captain click here!

For the Iowa vs. Iowa State game we ended up at my Dad and Laura's house for a family tailgate/birthday celebration for Cade/celebrating the their new pool & backyard!  The weather was very nice, so we were able to watch the game outside and the kiddos were even able to break in the new pool!  And to sweeten the deal, the Hawks pulled off a victory against our instate rival!

Breaking in the pool!

Enjoying the outdoor viewing!

Even though we went to Kinnick early this year to attend Kids Day, we were delayed in actually getting down to Iowa City for a game.  The weather was unseasonably warm for the first few games and sadly we weren't all that interested in sitting in 100+ degree temps in the stadium.

We finally made it to a game this weekend!  The weather has really turned around and we felt that the clock was ticking a little to get Lila to a game this season, so we took advantage of it while we had the chance! 

Hawkeye fans all ready to go!

We thought we might be flying solo to the game, but we were thrilled to learn later in the week that the Holub family would be attending the game, too!  So we made plans to meet up with them to do a kid-friendly tailgate!

Munching away!

You might notice that Lila isn't in black and gold?!  Yup, she wasn't interested, so for this game she was decked out in pink and white...no fear, she had a tiger hawk on her shirt, so she was still rocking her Hawkeye pride!

Dylan - a proud Hawkeye!

Sporting his Kid Captain jersey!

 

It was just the three of us in our seats, so we had three extra spots to spread out!  Having Lila with us, it was really nice to have the extra room for her to dance along with the music and have stretch her legs a little! 

 



Her Herkey fan/mask was a hit!

During the game Dylan was featured up on the Jumbo-Tron as one of the kid captains!  It was so cool to see him up there being honored.  He is so deserving of the honor and the Hawkeyes are lucky to have such a cool little kid to represent them!

After the game (I should mention that the Hawkeyes beat Western Michigan 59-3 -- WOAH!!!), we met the Holub's back at the car for a little more tailgate time!  The kids enjoyed playing "house" in the front seat of my car.  I would have paid to watch them a bit closer to hear what they were saying?!

Happy campers!

As we made our way home we looked back to see a very tired little girl fast asleep in her car seat!  I made Mike prop her back up, it looked so darn uncomfortable!

Wiped out!

We can't be too sure how good the Hawks are going to be once they start their Big 10 season, but they came out and really did a nice job yesterday, so here is to hoping they continue winning!!!


Riding Lessons!

Lila continues to love her riding lessons!  Awhile back she was introduced to a new horse named Jake since Bud had been sold.  While we were super sad to learn that Bud went to a new home, we were excited to meet Jake!  Jake and Lila have become fast friends!

Meet Jake!

Riding with great form!

As Lila continues to enjoy her lessons and her skill continues to further, we decided it was time to get her a pair of boots that she can use for her riding boots.  She had been doing some galloping and complained that it hurt her feet...that is what galloping in Toms will do for you!  So, we got online and ordered her an official pair of cowboy boots!  We were hoping that she could wear them riding, but also utilize them this fall with some of her dresses!  She was beyond thrilled to do a bit of a fashion show for us when they arrived!

Showing off her boots!

It is amazing to think we started these lessons less than 6 months ago!  She absolutely loves her time with the horses and her instructor, Carrie!  We look forward to seeing if this is a hobby that will last a lifetime?!

Jake & Lila!

Dance Class!

We also started up our first full year of dance class at The Dancer's Edge!  Lila wasn't so sure about dance last summer, but this summer proved to be successful, and I believe we owe that to her dear friend Henley!  Henley joined Lila this summer in their Tinies 1 class and they had a ball!  So, we are happy to watch the girls as they continue in Tinies this fall and will anxiously await to see them on the big stage during recital!!!



I think her favorite part is the twirly skirts!

Look how much these peanuts have grown up since our "Mommy & Me" days!

Supporting a Good Cause!

I continue to be involved as a board member for the Cedar Valley Humane Society.  The organization continues to make great strides in cleaning up its checkered past and I am proud to be a part of that!  We most recently have been involved in a fundraiser for the month of September called the $30k in 30 Days Challenge!  We knew it was aggressive to try and raise $30,000.00 in 30 days, but we were excited to be able to ask the community to participate and also be able to tell our story to the public!  We are at the 22nd of the month as I write this and we are just over $2,000 away from our goal!  I am humbled with the community involvement and can only hope that we continue to help the CVHS be successful in fulfilling our mission! 

Click here to learn how to donate!

You can see some of the great media coverage that CVHS has received while running our challenge!  Click here to see the story that one of our local news stations did. 


Baking & Cooking...Thanks Pinterest!

One of the things that Mike and I have always loved to do together is cook!  It has been so much fun to include Lila into the cooking and baking as she has gotten older, too.  I have to admit, I am a bit addicted to Pinterest when it comes to finding recipes to try!  We have had a ton of luck when it comes to preparing new meals and having them actually taste as good as they sound!

Helping to make breakfast!

Butterfly cupcakes!

She loves to whisk!

Some of our favorite recipes can be found by looking me up on Pinterest and checking out my board titled, "Delish!"  I have to say if it is on the board it is a hit at our house or it is still awaiting us to give it a try, but we have a great success record, so take a peek!  I should also note...did you notice that Lila either has a princess dress on while baking or a tiara?!  She just can't help herself!

To add to Lila's baking and cooking, she went to Strawberry Point with Jen, Celia, and Ruby to spend time with my Grandma Harvey, one of the best cooks that I know!  It was a special day as they made cookies, pie, homemade pizza, and so on!



Gram & her girls!

Enjoying the last days of summer and welcoming fall!

And lastly, we have been enjoying the weather we have had!  Granted there were several days in there where it was too hot to even be outside, but amidst those days there have been some really beautiful days that were meant to take advantage of!




Pool fun with friends!



Kite flying with Dad!

Carving out some time for sidewalk chalk!

 

Swinging with Sloan!

Even the pups enjoy the nice weather!

Pretty weather, pretty girl!

I could go on and on about what we have been up to lately, but that would just make this blog post even longer!  I promise to get better at posting this fall!  I am sure as the weather gets a bit colder, I will be more inclined to turning on the computer and dedicate myself to doing more frequent updates!

Golfing for a Good Cause!

This week had the Eddins family participating in two different golf events for charity.  Monday I spent the day at Elmcrest Country Club working at the Zach Johnson Foundation Classic.  TrueNorth was the caddy sponsor, which meant we had 25 of our clients, prospects and friends caddying for the professional golfers and celebrities participating in the tournament!

TrueNorth Caddy Bibs!  Lookin' Sharp!

I am not a golfer, not at all, but it was still a lot of fun being out on the course that day watching the event unfold.  And it was so refreshing to meet so many of the pro's and celebrities only to find out they were very down to earth and excited to be a part of such an amazing event for our local children.

Kurt Warner signing autographs!



 Of all the people invovled in the tournament, Zach Johnson was by far the nicest.  He was truly humbled by all the support of the community and his player/celebrity friends.  They raised $1M for his Kids on Course program that will benefit children in the community, amazing!! 



Zach playing the course!

Saturday found the Eddins family out at Airport National Golf Course for Putts 4 Pets!  This is an annual putt-putt tournament put on by the Cedar Valley Humane Society.  Putt-putt is the only way you will get me on the course and it helps that it's for a good cause! 

First time golfer!

It was fun for Mike to help Lila get the hang of putt-putt!  You never quite know what to expect when you introduce a two year old to something new and we had 18 holes ahead of us, but she loved it!  And I couldn't get over the tiny little club she had, eat your heart out Tiger Woods!

Looks like Lila is a natural!  I am guessing the putt-putt course is something we visit more often in the future and maybe golfing is something fun Mike and Lila can do together for years to come?!